Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 vs Tab 3 Kids

Samsung has updated its popular Galaxy Tab 3 to make it easy, fun and safe for kids to use. But what has Samsung changed to create the Tab 3 Kids? Let’s see how it compares to the original tablet.

Design

Samsung didn’t change its design for the Tab 3 Kids very much at all. It’s still slim, lightweight and is easy to hold. The only thing that changed was the colour options. While the Tab 3 comes in grown-up black or white, the Tab 3 Kids comes in a bright, friendly yellow.

But Samsung did think about a kid’s uncanny ability to drop the most breakable things, so the Tab 3 Kids comes with an orange bumper case that adds a bit of bulk and protection to the tablet.

Screen

Both tablets also have identical screens. They measure 7-inches, which is the perfect size for carrying around, and use LCD technology to create bright images and lifelike colours. And while the screens are a few pixels short of being HD, things look sharp enough when browsing the web or playing casual games.

Software

This is where Samsung made the biggest changes. The original Tab 3 uses the Android Jelly Bean operating system, topped with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface. That means it gives a pretty standard experience, with access to more than a million apps, lots of ways to customise menus and homepages and loads of apps for staying in touch with friends and family.

But the Galaxy Tab Kids works completely differently. At its heart, it still runs Android Jelly Bean, but you wouldn’t know it to look at it. The huge range of apps and features that Samsung gives on its tablets has been whittled down to a few fun things specifically designed for kids. However, that doesn’t mean it’s limited. Parents can exit Kids Mode to get to the usual Galaxy Tab look and feel. From there, you can add new child-friendly apps to the kids area.

Camera

One of the things kids seem to like most on the Tab 3 Kids is the camera app. It lets them take photos and add funny effects, which really boosts and inspires their creativity.

And the photos look pretty decent as the kids tablet uses the same 3MP rear and 1.3MP front cameras as the regular Tab 3. The front one is especially good for video calls on the normal tablet, but it’s not quite so useful for the kids.

Speed

Kids love playing games, so Samsung left the speedy dual core processor that’s in the Tab 3 in the Tab 3 Kids. By modern standards, it’s not the fastest thing around, but it’s perfectly capable of running apps and games smoothly, although you might notice some lag if you have a few things open in the background.